It has been 11 years since the earthquake in southern New Zealand, which killed 28 Japanese people, and a memorial service was held at a vocational school in Toyama City, where 12 students in language training were killed.
Eleven years ago, on February 22, the earthquake in southern New Zealand destroyed the building that housed the language school in Christchurch and killed 28 Japanese.
A memorial service was held on the 22nd at Toyama Foreign Language College in Toyama City, where 12 students who visited for language training died, and more than 110 people including bereaved families and current students attended and an earthquake occurred. I offered a silent prayer at 8:51 am Japan time.
After that, Mr. Ryoma Takeuchi, the student representative, said, "I will keep in mind that it is not natural to be able to study at this school, and I will not forget the thoughts of my seniors and will work diligently on my daily studies." I said the words.
Then, after the 12 students sang a song to convey their feelings of mourning in a different way than before, the attendees quietly turned the flowers to the flower stand.
After the ceremony, Masashi Yokota, who lost her daughter Saki, who was 19 years old at the time, said, "People say that I have no choice but to look forward and live, but if I don't look back, my daughter's face will be. I can't see it and it's hard every year. "
In addition, Kazuo Hotta, who lost his daughter Megumi, who was 19 years old at the time, attended the local ceremony every year, but due to the influence of the new corona, he gave up last year.
Mr. Hotta said, "It's really hard during the moment of silence. It's a moment when I want to go back if I can go back in time. I think about what I was able to do when I was revived, but it's frustrating." I did.